环球英语 — 414：Island Environments

　　Voice 1
Welcome to Spotlight¹. I’m Ruby² Jones
Voice 2
And I’m Joshua Leo. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
High up in the tree tops, a small insect eats the leaves of a palm tree. This beetle³ is called the picudo rojo. Its body is red. Its nose is long and bent⁴. The beetle lives on the island of Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands. It is eating one tree in particular – the Canary Palm Tree. This tree is special to this area. It has always grown on the island. But the beetle has not always lived on the island. The beetle is not supposed to be here. It was brought here by humans. The picudo rojo is damaging the Canary Palm trees. It is causing problems for other animals who call the Canary Islands home.
Today’s Spotlight is on the special ecology of islands.
Voice 2
Islands are very special places. They are different in many ways from mainland areas. Different islands form in different ways. Some islands grow out of the ocean floor, from volcanoes. Hot liquid rock moves up from deep inside the earth. When it cools in the ocean, over many years, it can create a volcanic⁵ island. Only particular animals can travel to volcanic islands. Birds can fly to the islands. Some animals swim to the islands. But many animals cannot swim the long distances through the ocean to reach the island. So the animal life is limited.
Voice 1
Other islands form as areas of land move away from each other. Over many years, pieces of land can separate from larger areas of land. These are called continental⁶ islands. Often, as the island moves away from larger areas of land, the animals living there stay on the island. They move too. And they are part of the environment of the new island.
Voice 2
Island plants and animals are very special for this reason. They are not affected⁷ by new species⁸ of plants or animals. They can grow, develop, and change without being influenced by outside species. The plants and animals on an island form a special balance. This is the island’s ecosystem⁹. But island ecosystems¹⁰ are very delicate. They can become unbalanced easily. This is what is happening on the Canary Islands.
Voice 1
The Canary Islands are off the Northwest edge of Africa near Morocco. They are volcanic islands. Tenerife is the largest island in the group. It is very dry on this island. But in one area, the clouds push against the mountain. Water collects here in a valley. And where there is water, there is life. The Canary Islands are home to many plants and animals. Many of those are endemic species. Endemic species are plants and animals that only exist in one place. The Canary Islands have over 4,000 endemic species. Places such as Great Britain only have 100.
Voice 2
The Canary Islands are home to many birds including the Canary, a small yellow bird named after the islands. Only a few mammals, animals with hair on their bodies, live on the islands. Most are small and eat only plants. The islands also have great biodiversity. There are many different kinds of plants and animals, more than many other areas in the world. About every six days, scientists find a new species on the islands. But invasive species are threatening these animals and plants.
Voice 1
You may have heard an earlier Spotlight program on invasive species. In that program, we talked about the problems foreign species can have on an ecosystem. This is particularly true on islands.
Voice 2
In 1985, a government agreement removed restrictions¹¹ on people entering the Canary Islands. These rules limited who, what and when things entered the Canary Islands. This included people. Before, these restrictions helped reduce the number of foreign plants and animals people brought to the islands.
Voice 1
European governments seriously control what comes into Europe. But the governments do not restrict what moves around Europe. Since the Canary Islands are part of Spain, the government treats the islands like any other part of Europe. But the Canary Islands are at risk much more than other areas. Today, government officials say that a foreign species enters the islands about once every seventeen days. And about every six months one of those species turns into a problem species.
Voice 2
One of these problem species is the Picudo Rojo. We described this insect at the beginning of the program. The insect probably travelled to the island on foreign palm trees, brought to the island by people. But it has caused serious damage to the native Canary Palms. And there are many other examples too. Today, one of every two plants on the island is a foreign species.
Voice 1
Domingo Berriel works for the Canary Island’s environmental protection agency. He thinks that the government needs more control over what plants and animals enter the Canary Islands. He says that if this does not happen, the effects could be very bad.
Voice 3
“If we do not act soon, the effects on our endemic species could be very serious.”
Voice 2
Mr. Berriel understands that humans are the largest threat to the Canary Island’s ecosystem. Humans bring the foreign plants and animals that threaten the native species. But the Canary Islands are not the only place facing this problem.
Voice 1
You may have heard of the Galapagos Islands, in Ecuador. They are found off the northwest coast of South America. The islands are named after the large tortoises that exist only on the islands. These islands are known for having many special animals.
Voice 2
Charles Darwin, a famous nature scientist explored the Galapagos Islands in 1835. He was amazed at the animals on the islands. He saw that the animals on each island were different. They all had an important part in keeping the balance of life on the islands. He knew this was a special place.
Voice 1
But there were many other visitors than Charles Darwin. And most of them did not care about the special ecological¹² balance there. Before humans arrived, the native animals on the islands had no natural predators¹⁴. Nothing hunted them or ate them. But when humans arrived, the native species became threatened. Humans brought predator¹³ animals. The people also ate the animals on the islands.
Voice 2
Today, there are over 700 foreign species of plants on the islands, and only 500 native plants. Foreign species of animals threaten many native species. Even the famous Galapagos Tortoise is threatened. And some people illegally kill some of the island animals for money.
Voice 1
But there is hope. In 1959 the government of Ecuador made most areas of the islands a protected national park. In 1986, the waters around the islands were also protected. The islands are now also a UNESCO world heritage¹⁵ site. People are working to protect the delicate ecology of this area.
Voice 2
Private groups, governments, and citizens need to work together to help protect these special natural areas, like the Galapagos and Canary Islands. Humans have caused much of the damage that affects these islands, but humans can also help to stop this damage.
 

1 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

2 ruby   

n.红宝石，红宝石色

参考例句：

• She is wearing a small ruby earring.她戴着一枚红宝石小耳环。
• On the handle of his sword sat the biggest ruby in the world.他的剑柄上镶有一颗世上最大的红宝石。

3 beetle   

n.甲虫，近视眼的人

参考例句：

• A firefly is a type of beetle.萤火虫是一种甲虫。
• He saw a shiny green beetle on a leaf.我看见树叶上有一只闪闪发光的绿色甲虫。

4 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

5 volcanic   

adj.火山的；象火山的；由火山引起的

参考例句：

• There have been several volcanic eruptions this year.今年火山爆发了好几次。
• Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。

6 continental   

adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。

7 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

8 species   

n.物种，种群

参考例句：

• Are we the only thinking species in the whole of creation?我们是万物中惟一有思想的物种吗？
• This species of bird now exists only in Africa.这种鸟现在只存在于非洲。

9 ecosystem   

n.生态系统

参考例句：

• This destroyed the ecosystem of the island.这样破坏了岛上的生态系统。
• We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem.维持生态系统的完整是我们共同的利益。

10 ecosystems   

n.生态系统( ecosystem的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There are highly sensitive and delicately balanced ecosystems in the forest. 森林里有高度敏感、灵敏平衡的各种生态系统。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Madagascar's ecosystems range from rainforest to semi-desert. 马达加斯加生态系统类型多样，从雨林到半荒漠等不一而足。 来自辞典例句

11 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

12 ecological   

adj.生态的，生态学的

参考例句：

• The region has been declared an ecological disaster zone.这个地区已经宣布为生态灾难区。
• Each animal has its ecological niche.每种动物都有自己的生态位.

13 predator   

n.捕食其它动物的动物；捕食者

参考例句：

• The final part of this chapter was devoted to a brief summary of predator species.本章最后部分简要总结了食肉动物。
• Komodo dragon is the largest living lizard and a fearsome predator.科摩多龙是目前存在的最大蜥蜴，它是一种令人恐惧的捕食性动物。

14 predators   

n.食肉动物( predator的名词复数 )；奴役他人者（尤指在财务或性关系方面）

参考例句：

• birds and their earthbound predators 鸟和地面上捕食它们的动物
• The eyes of predators are highly sensitive to the slightest movement. 捕食性动物的眼睛能感觉到最细小的动静。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 heritage   

n.传统，遗产，继承物

参考例句：

• The ancient buildings are part of the national heritage.这些古建筑是民族遗产的一部分。
• We Chinese have a great cultural heritage.我们中国人有伟大的文化遗产。